First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1459 - The Secrets of Wang Ye’s Reincarnation

The divine palace rumbled and boomed.

Then, a streak of bright red, unearthly light soared into the firmament.

Boom!

The dome of heaven shook violently, and the three-thousand-mile Ancient Wilds Demon Mountains swayed. Unearthly red light interwove in the night sky, outlining a pair of crimson wings so enormous as to blot out the sun!

They were just too enormous, like twin clouds hanging beneath the heavens. They blanketed the sky over the Ancient Wilds Demon Mountains, emanating countless blood-red Dao Markings.

At the same time, an ancient, boundless, and dense pressure swept across the surrounding area.

“My heavens!” A startled cry rang out.

The experts who’d retreated from the ritual grounds earlier hadn’t really left. When they saw this, they were so startled that their hair stood on end. It was as if they’d been plunged into an endless abyss.

“This is...” The purple-robed woman’s eyes widened as she suddenly recalled a certain rumor.

Long, long ago, an ancient legend circulated.

It stated that the founder of the Demonic Court of Ten Thousand Domains was a Three-Legged Demon Crow born of the Chaotic Blood Sea, a true Xiantian variant species. His ferocity was unrivaled, and they said he could devour stars and rip through the curtain of heaven!

When she saw those enormous blood-red wings blotting out the sun, the woman in purple couldn’t help but be astonished. Don’t tell me... that terrifying aura comes from the founder of the Demonic Court of Ten Thousand Domains!?

Thud! Thud!

The man in imperial robes and numerous other cultivations fell limply to the ground, their hearts and minds completely shaken as they were overcome with despair.

Su Yi stood before the divine palace’s gates, hands behind his back. He took in those enormous blood-colored wings with complete composure.

Meanwhile, blood-red light shot out of the palace interior, transforming into a gray-robed, severe old man with a prominent mustache.

As soon as he appeared, the enormous blood-red wings vanished, and the shaking landscape slowly returned to stillness.

That terrifying presence receded like waters at low tide.

“You... You’re...” The long-robed man stared at Su Yi in bewilderment.

Su Yi looked the long-robed old man over and sighed. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d still be here all these years later.”

The old man shook from head to toe, his severe features suddenly full of excitement, delight, and astonishment.

Then, beneath countless flabbergasted gazes, the long-robed old man kowtowed and said with the utmost solemnity, “Wu Meng welcomes your return, Your Eminence”

Every word went off like a thunderclap, echoing throughout the dome of heaven.

Wu Meng!

The woman in purple reacted as if she’d been struck by lightning. She was completely dumbstruck.

That was the name of the founder of the Demonic Court of Ten Thousand Domains. It had once shaken the Profound Eternity Realm. Wu Meng was like an undying legend, famous throughout the ages!

Wu Meng!

The distant cultivators’ hearts shook.

They’d come here in search of the Demonic Court of Ten Thousand Domains’ good fortune. Naturally, they’d researched the sect first. How could they not know what the name Wu Meng represented?

But the Demonic Court of Ten Thousand Domains had vanished from this world a long, long time ago. No one would have guessed that its founder was still alive!

Furthermore...

That long-lost legend of Demonism was now kowtowing before a young man he called “Your Eminence”!

The crowd’s minds went blank. They almost thought they’d stepped into a dreamscape. Everything happening before them just didn’t seem real.

“‘Your Eminence...?’” Su Yi muttered to himself, then smiled. “Quick, stand up. Let’s have a look around the palace.”

“Yes, Your Eminence!” The gray-robed Wu Meng rose to his feet.

“Right, send these people away first,” Su Yi ordered.

He’d only just said this when——

The collapsed man in imperial robes threw himself to the ground and cried out in terror, “Senior, earlier, this junior was blind and foolish. Please, spare my life!”

He then slammed his head into the dirt and kowtowed repeatedly.

“....” Su Yi was at a loss for words. Does he think I’m going to silence them all?

Wu Meng’s blood-red eyes instantly locked onto the man in imperial robes. His gaze surged with murderous intent. Don’t tell me that little wretch offending His Eminence?

When the woman in purple saw this, her heart clenched, and she said frantically, “Senior, earlier, we...”

But before she could explain, Su Yi waved her away. “I have no interest in your lives. Wu Meng, just send them elsewhere.”

“Yes, Your Eminence!” Wu Meng solemnly assented. He stepped forth and swept his blood-red gaze across the group. His sleeves billowed.

Boom!

Endless blood-red light surged forth, transforming into a windstorm and enveloping the sky.

The gathered cultivators were like blades of grass swept into a hurricane. In a flash, they’d vanished.

......

Outside the Ancient Wilds Demon Mountains.

The cultivators flopped to the ground like dumplings. The impact left them dizzy.

When they realized that they were still alive, all of them were overcome with delight. They knew they’d just survived a disaster.

“What... happened to us just now?” someone asked in confusion.

The others were briefly startled. They tried their best to remember, only to discover that they couldn’t recall anything that had happened since they’d entered the Ancient Wilds Demon Mountains.

“Someone wiped away our memories of everything that happened since we entered the Ancient Wilds Demon Mountains!” someone exclaimed.

The crowd’s expressions shifted.

The crowd’s expressions shifted. Now, when they gazed at the distant mountains, their expressions were full of deep-seated dread.

That place was far too strange!

......

The gray-robed Wu Meng stood before the divine palace. He said solemnly, “Your Eminence, your subordinate erased their memories of everything that happened after they entered the Ancient Wilds Demon Mountains.”

Su Yi was briefly stunned. “That was unnecessary.”

Wu Meng instantly lowered his head and said with unease, “Please, forgive me, Your Eminence!”

This was the founder of the Demonic Court of Ten Thousand Domains, a long-established expert of the Immortal Dao. Here in the Profound Eternity Realm, he was a terrifying existence.

Yet now, he was as frantic as a servant fessing up to a mistake.

Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “And that’s why I called you a blockhead. You haven’t changed. Very well, never mind all that.”

Wu Meng scratched his head and grinned. “I’m only like this in front of you, Your Eminence. My brain... doesn’t quite work properly when you're around.”

“Let’s go,” said Su Yi. He was already headed into the palace. Wu Meng hurriedly led the way, like a loyal servant, his back bent slightly and his bearing utterly respectful.

......

The palace interior was thoroughly lamplit.

The floor was made entirely out of cloud-marked immortal stone, and the pillars were carved with dragons and phoenixes.

It was a magnificent sight.

At the far end of the hall, there stood rows of bookshelves covered in jade slips, beast skin scrolls, sealed envelopes, and tomes of all sorts. There was an enormous writing desk and a chair next to the bookcases. The desk was ready with ink, inkstones, and an opened ancient text.

There was no other furniture whatsoever.

Su Yi walked up to the writing desk, and a memory fused deep into his bones rose to the forefront of his mind. He slowly took a seat, then shifted his gaze toward the opened ancient scroll, his gaze inscrutable.

He didn’t even need to think to know that this text was known as the “Demon Meridians Source Letter!”

Long, long ago, this was the last text Wang Ye read before leaving the Epoch of Demonism.

“This place hasn’t changed at all since I left,” whispered Su Yi.

Wu Meng was instantly emotional. “Your Eminence, when you left, you said you’d return one day. I’ve looked after this place for you ever since.”

Su Yi sipped from a jug of wine as he and Wu Meng conversed.

“You founded the Demonic Court of Ten Thousand Domains. What happened to it?”

“Your Eminence, I dissolved it personally!” Wu Meng said gravely.

Wu Meng lowered his voice. “It was perhaps three thousand years after you left. A group of terrifying experts entered the Epoch of Demonism in search of people and leads connected to you!”

“People from the Immortal Realm?” Su Yi’s brow furrowed slightly. “Do you know who they were?”

“Each of those experts of the Immortal Dao was more terrifying than the one before. They were incomparable with ordinary immortals. All I know is that one of them was called the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign.”

The Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign!

Su Yi’s eyes narrowed, suddenly cold and cruel.

The Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign was one of Wang Ye’s greatest enemies!

Back then, when Wang Ye stood at the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm, he didn’t choose to undergo reincarnation in search of greater heights.

Rather, he met his doom while cultivating in seclusion. A group of fellow peak immortals joined forces to ambush him!

It happened suddenly, while Wang Ye was at a critical moment in his cultivation, letting his enemies catch him off guard.

In the end, although Wang Ye slew several of his enemies and left a path of blood in his wake, his injuries were so severe that his foundations in the Immortal Dao were completely irreparable. This left him little choice but to borrow the Sword of the Nine Hells’ power to undergo reincarnation.

The Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign was among those who’d ambushed him!

He was an old monster of the Daoist school of thought. Long ago, when Wang Ye reached the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao, the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign was one of the few other top experts standing there with him.

Of course, at Wang Ye’s peak, he could have easily defeated the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign in a one-on-one duel.

After Wang Ye left the Epoch of Demonism, he spent almost a thousand years exploring the worlds of other epochs before finally returning to the Immortal Realm. Then, less than three hundred years later, he was ambushed and forced to reincarnate... Su Yi thought to himself.

According to Wu Meng, Blood Firmament arrived in the Epoch of Demonism one thousand, seven hundred years after Wang Ye’s death. That’s strange. Could it be... that Blood Firmament and the others knew all along that Wang Ye wasn’t really dead? Otherwise, how could they show up in the Epoch of Demonism to hunt for leads regarding Wang Ye just under two thousand years later? Did they perhaps discover that Wang Ye’s reincarnation had been born here?

Su Yi’s eyelids twitched at the thought.

Wang Ye’s reincarnation was Shen Mu. And Shen Mu was born in the Epoch of Demonism!

“Do you know why the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign came to the Epoch of Demonism in search of me?” asked Su Yi.

Wu Meng shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t.”

Su Yi rubbed his forehead. “Continue your explanation.”

Wu Meng nodded. “Back then, your subordinate sensed the danger. I feared it would implicate the members of the Demonic Court of Ten Thousand Domains, so I immediately dissolved the sect and then I lay low. My plan was to gather information in secret and learn what those immortal experts were really after.

“Alas, in the end, I failed to achieve my aim. Their traces were fleeting. I couldn’t find and approach them. No one in the Epoch of Demonism could. However, I can say with certainty that they failed to uncover any leads in the end.”

Here, Wu Meng’s eyes shone with a strange light.

Back then, Wang Ye was such a transcendent existence that practically no one in the Epoch of Demonism, outside of his immediate subordinates, had even known he existed. This was especially true since Wang Ye had been completely focused on researching all manner of ancient tomes; he’d never gotten mixed up in the Epoch of Demonism’s affairs!

“Several hundred years later, those experts of the Immortal Dao left the Epoch of Demonism,” said Wu Meng. “By then, I had no interest in rebuilding the sect, so I stayed here, lying low until the present day.”

Su Yi took a sip of wine. “What about the others?”

Back then, Wang Ye recruited ten-or-so subordinates to help him gather research materials here in the Epoch of Demonism. Wu Meng was among this group.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve last contacted them, but...” Wu Meng’s eyes shone with eagerness. “I trust that they’ll rush over to see you as soon as they learn of your return!”

Su Yi thought for a moment. “I’ve come here to resolve a few matters, and I really could use all of your help collecting leads.”

Wu Meng bowed solemnly. “Please command me, Your Eminence!”

Su Yi’s gaze was heavy and profound. “Investigate the faction known as the Six Desires Demonist Sect.”

He then concisely explained his reasons for coming here and took out the Ten Thousand Demons Imperial Talisman and handed it to Wu Meng. “Use this to gather the others.”

“Understood!” Wu Meng accepted the talisman, his heart overflowing with emotion. I’ve been waiting for so, so long, but His Eminence has finally returned. The Six Desires Demonist Sect? Hah! They dared offend His Eminence, so they’ll soon be wiped from the face of the world!

......

That very night.

Wu Meng sat cross-legged and activated the Ten Thousand Demons Imperial Talisman.

Weng!

Strange, inscrutable light emanated from the talisman, forming rings of spatial ripples in the air.

“His Eminence has returned! Come see me immediately!”

Wu Meng used his will to emblazon a message in the talisman.

Then, it burst into flame, transformed into an illusory beam of light, and shot through the sky.

......

Late at night in a bustling city.

A pack of vicious bandits had forced their way into a gambling den. Against the threat of death, the gamblers had no choice but to obediently offer up their wealth.

“Your turn.”

A glinting saber hovered in front of an old man’s face.

The old man’s clothes were shabby and worn, and his hair and beard were unkempt. His face was covered in wrinkles, and his eyes were turbid.

Everyone in the gambling den knew the old man was a gambling addict. The moment he got his hands on money, he’d rush to the gambling den, only to lose it all every time.

The old man lowered his head in trepidation and murmured, “I... I already lost it all.”

Bang!

The bandit sent him flying with a kick and was just about to search him when another bandit stopped him. “Look how shabby the old man is. How could he possibly have any money? The gambling den’s long since wrung him dry!”

Before long, the bandits finished gathering their treasures, but just as they were about to leave, a figure blocked the doorway.

It was none other than that shabby old man.

“Want to die, old man? Get out of the way!” shouted a bandit.

The old man instantly lowered his head in shame and proferred a bag of money. “My apologies, sir. I shouldn’t have lied to you. In truth, I still have some copper coins. Please, accept them.”

The bandits froze, stunned, then looked at each other.

“You’re actually quite honest, you old codger!” One of the bandits approached and snatched the bag out of his hands.

But the old man was only increasingly embarrassed, so ashamed that his ears flushed red. “Everyone, I still have more to apologize for. Actually, I... am not of the mundane world.”

The bandits were stunned once more. One of them laughed derisively, “Like hell you aren’t! Don’t tell me you’re some kind of immortal? Away with you!”

He then raised his hands to shove the old man away.

Boom!

The bandit exploded into a mist of blood.

The sight left the others completely dumbstruck. Beads of cold sweat immediately formed on their foreheads.

The old man still looked ashamed. “To tell the truth, I... am indeed an immortal.”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, every last bandit exploded into a mist of blood.

Weng!

It was then that space rippled. The old man froze, formed a hand seal, and tapped the air.

An aged voice instantly rang out.

“His Eminence has returned. Come see me immediately!”

The old man was instantly so excited that he slapped his thigh and laughed. “His Eminence is finally back! He’s finally back!!”

He then turned and dashed off, rapidly disappearing into the boundless darkness of the night.

......

Late at night, crows cawed amidst trees covered in dried-out vines.

A group of grave robbers were hard at work excavating a long-abandoned, unmarked gravesite. When they saw the golden coffin buried there, they were completely stunned. It seemed they hadn’t expected to unearth such a treasure.

“It’s out! What a huge golden coffin!”

“Brothers, we’re... we’re rich!!” One of the grave robbers was so excited that his voice trembled and his breathing sped up.

“Open it! There’s surely extraordinary treasure inside!” someone said in a low voice.

But it was then that a voice tinged with delight emanated from within the coffin, “His Eminence has returned?”

The grave robbers shuddered and pissed themselves in fright.

A moment later, the golden coffin took to the skies, blurred into a beam of light, and shot into the depths of the night sky!

It left a pack of grave robbers with dampened robes behind. All of them were completely frantic.

......

At the bottom of an ocean, an underwater mountain suddenly swayed, churning the surrounding ten thousand miles of seawater.

A moving young beauty then emerged from the base of a mountain. Her long, snow-white hair shone with dreamlike silver light amidst the seawater.

“Your Eminence... I’ve been waiting for this day for a... long, long time.”

She had a thin waist and a slender figure, and she looked meek and adorable. However, the depths of her gaze crackled with unearthly, terrifying silver lightning.

Numerous similar scenes unfolded beneath the darkness.

A tall, stalwart man placed his spear on his shoulder and emerged from an ancient battleground.

A white-robed man seated cross-legged atop a star shot over, slicing through the sky.

All of them were headed toward the same place.

The Ancient Wilds Demon Mountains!

......

“Where is His Eminence, Wu Meng?”

A group of terrifying figures stood outside the Divine Palace of Ten Thousand Domains. All of them were looking at Wu Meng.

They included the shabby old gambling addict, a black-robbed middle-aged man carrying a golden coffin on his back, a white-robed man holding a jade fan, a moving beauty with hair as white as snow, a miniature mountain of a man carrying a blood-red spear...

There were seven of them in total, counting Wu Meng.

“Back then, eighteen of us pledged to serve His Eminence, yet now, only we remain.” Wu Meng sighed.

Where had the others gone?

There was no need to even question it.

They’d either died or left the Profound Eternity Realm.

Otherwise, they would have rushed over the moment the talisman summoned them!

The crowd fell silent, their hearts full of emotion.

“I gathered you here today to help His Eminence with a certain aim,” Wu Meng said gravely. “I’ve prepared a specific mission for each of you. All I ask is that you fulfill your task with aplomb!”

The silver-haired young woman asked, “Where is His Eminence?”

“He’s already begun this operation,” said Wu Meng, glancing at the young woman. “If you want to see him, you’d best complete your mission first.”

The girl broke into a sweet smile. “Relax! When it comes to His Eminence’s orders, I’m even more careful than you old-timers!”

Wu Meng raised his hand and tossed each of them a jade slip. “Your specific missions are inside. All of you can get to work.”

......

The Six Desires Demonist Sect.

An overcast prison cell.

“Mu Zijin, would you believe me if I said that even if Shen Mu were alive, he wouldn’t have the heart to chastise me even after seeing you in this wretched state?” Lady Snowjade stood at the top of a stone staircase, her gaze tinged with pity.

The dungeons were damp and pungent. The smell of rotting corpse permeated the air.

Mu Zijin was huddled in a corner, dressed in rags. Her hair was disheveled, and she was covered in blood and filth. Her snowy, crystalline skin was now a mass of bloody wounds.

Her beautiful face was deathly pale.

A black chain ran right through her shoulder, holding her fast. The surface of the metal was now red with blood.

The dungeon floor was covered in puddles of turbid water, and the smell lingered. Mu Zijin looked even worse than a beggar.

Lady Snowjade’s voice echoed throughout the dungeon, but it was as if Mu Zijin didn’t even notice. Her eyes were hollow, and her expression was wooden, as if she’d lost her soul.

She was the daughter of Mu Jianchi, the Profound Eternity Realm’s greatest swordsman, and she was Shen Mu’s junior apprentice sister. In the eyes of the populace, she was a chosen daughter of heaven, someone they could only look up to.

Yet now, she was... a helpless prisoner. Her captors could trample her as they pleased!

“Don’t be sad. I’m not here to humiliate you. In truth, a pitiful worm like you isn’t even worthy of being crushed beneath my feet,” said Lady Snowjade, her eyes shining with hatred. “I just came here to tell you that although Shen Mu is dead, he isn’t fully dead. This time, though, I’ll make sure to kill him for good. I won’t leave even bone dust behind!”

With that, she turned to leave.

But then, Mu Zijin said in a weak, raspy voice, “Might you... let me watch?”

Lady Snowjade turned, then gazed down at the woman in the corner of the cell. “You want to see how Shen Mu’s reincarnation dies?”

Mu Zijin lowered her head. “And what... if you’re the one to die in the end?”

Lady Snowjade was stunned, but then, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Very well! When he gets here, I’ll show you just how your beloved Senior Apprentice Brother Shen Mu dies like a dog before me!”

With that, she turned to leave.

The ragged, blood-soaked Mu Zijin sank into a lengthy silence in the corner of her cell before whispering, “My beloved Senior Apprentice Brother Su has been dead for a long time...

“Now, he’s Su Xuanjun, a sword cultivator... unfettered by love!”

As she said this, a hint of light flashed through the depths of her hollow eyes.